Ostrów Lednicki is one of the most important early medieval sites in Poland. Land and underwater archaeological excavations have been carried out there for many decades. This has allowed for a significant reconnaisance of the Lednica settlement complex. However, further research, especially that carried out underwater and in the shore-zone, has required the use of modern methods involving a multibeam echosounder (MBES), sub-bottom profiler (SBP), caesium magnetometer and LiDAR scans. The primary platform used for combining the underwater and aerial survey data was a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. This software made it possible to compare and correlate acoustic, magnetic, seismic and laser data. As a result, new important archaeological features were discovered, including two previously unknown bridges and extensive shore-zone fortifications.
This article aims to demonstrate the use of Sentinel images to develop strategies for heritage protection and management in rural landscapes that are currently undergoing dynamic transformations. Construction works are causing rapid and extensive land use changes that threaten archaeological structures. Moreover, the modernisation of farming practices may also negatively affect the efficiency of archaeological prospection. The rapidity of those processes requires the application of relevant tools to monitor changes and highlight negative tendencies in areas surrounding archaeological sites. High frequency of Sentinel-1 and -2′s acquisition may offer an immediate insight into current tendencies. Radar and optical data obtained from those satellites between 2016 and 2020 were analysed to identify trends in building development and land use/cover changes in Lednica Landscape Park. Preliminary results indicate a considerable potential of spectral analysis based on Sentinel-2 to monitor changes related to building development, as well as for the precise planning of a field survey. Sentinel-1 proved more problematic due to a range of factors related to data characteristics and processing. Using those results, we will discuss the potential and limitations of the proposed methodology and data.
25 June 2022 in Studia Etnologiczne i Antropologiczne
The preliminary report covered the results of the fieldwork conducted in Soba (Sudan, Khartoum State) in 2021-2022. It includes a general description of the idea behind the project as well as results of geophysical surveys, archaeological excavations, pottery studies, analysis of macro organic remains and stone tools, ethnological research, and training program.
The main aim of this paper is to present the potential of an integrated archaeological survey. Currently established survey practice combines a range of methods such as aerial archaeology, airborne laser scanning and geophysics, and analysis of historical maps. It is commonly assumed that the application of more methods will help to obtain more information about the registered archaeological site. However, a cumulation of collected data does not equate with a better understanding of the analyzed structures. Archaeologists often face fragmentary or even contradictory evidence provided by those methods. Integration of data requires a more flexible approach, a thorough questioning of collected data, meaningful comparison of different results, their re-interpretation and the formulation of new questions according to the mechanism of the hermeneutic circle. We illustrate these issues using the case study of an integrated survey at a medieval stronghold in Sądowel. In particular, we focused on various degrees of success with which different non-invasive methods were applied and changing interpretations of recorded structures.